Friday, January 30, 2009

Fighting FOCA

Senator David Vitter is vowing to do everything within his power to block the Freedom of Choice Act from moving forward in the Senate.

Barack Obama made this promise to Planned Parenthood supporters at a campaign event in 2007: "The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act," he said. "That's the first thing that I'd do."

The Freedom of Choice Act, which was authored by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California) in the 110th Congress, would eliminate all state and federal restrictions on abortion. Although the legislation has not yet been introduced in the current Congress, Senator David Vitter (R-Louisiana) tells OneNewsNow he intends to aggressively oppose the bill, which he calls a "huge threat."

"In one fell swoop it would wipe away so much of the progress we've made in the last decades -- so many legitimate, proper restrictions that are in place now on abortion. It would threaten conscience provisions. It would usher in unprecedented federal taxpayer funding of abortions," he notes. "So, it would be horrible, and that's why I'm going to do everything possible to fight the bill, to filibuster it, to use every procedural tool available in the Senate to block that bill when it's introduced."

Vitter says the Freedom of Choice Act is not likely to come up for a vote in President Obama's first 100 days, but Democrats will be working to include provisions from that measure in appropriations bills. For example, he expects an attempt soon to eliminate the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding of abortions.